Process for the construction of tight screens



June l, 1948 A. P. JOURDAIN 2,442,605

PROCESS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF'TIGHT SCREENS 2 Sheets-She'et 1 Filed April 1, 1946 June 1, 1948. A. P. JOURD AIN 2,442,605 PROCESS FDR THE CQNSTRUCTION OF TIGHT SCREENS 1 Filed April 1, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 @aiented June 1, i948 PROCESS FOR 'OONSTRUCT-IGN 0F TIGHT SCREENS Andre Paul Jou dain B els, Bel um, assigno to C pae c Intern i n le id .I'icux Au ts Frankigncul fi c t on mc, Liege Bel an! Application April1,'1946, Serial No. 658,646 In Belgium August :29, 19112 The Qn w t cn of ti ht-screens of reinforced concrete or the like, With great resista ce to bending, ground thrusts and vertical stress, has not been efiected satisfactorily :bythe processes known hitherto, especially when the Work is carried out in hard ground.

It has already been suggested to construct screens by means of pile planks made of concrete, prepared in advance and partially or completely surrounded by sectional irons, especially T or U irons, arranged so as 5130 leave-between the consecutive pile planks, a cert-ainspace which is filled with concrete during orafter the extraction f the sectional ironsdelimiting sthisispace. This connection made of unrammed concrete, which has the same thickness asthe :pile planks, doesnot establish a perfect weldbetween thezpile planks and forms a zone of less resistance :inthe s e s eci y to b di g ands-round thrusts; moreover, it does not increase the resistance :to vertical stress. The sectional irons zare'iquickly damaged and make this process practically inapplicable in hard ground.

It is also Well known how to construct screens of pile planks moulded in the ground icy-means ofca ss s k d e t d e n thcercund an withdrawn as the concreting takes .place. 'Ijl 1 ese aissons, hi h ge e al y have a rec an ular cross-sectionand are u d d cnlyononeside-are ly deformed and dama ed sot attliismethod cannot be app ie resi t ntercuud. zMorc ycr, theinjection of Water into the ground cannotabe used to facilitate the sinking, bccause'this water would glilutethe concreteof the pileplanksswhich have-just-been made.

The invention renders it possible toe iminate the disadvantages of the well-known methods and to construct with easeeven in ihardhground, perfectly tight screens witha greatly increased resistance to horizontal stress and :to bending, and at the same time with great resistance ;to vertical stress, in contrast to the well-known methods.

The invention also makes'itpossibleto limit .to the strict minimum the hold to be given vtothe pile planks properly speaking, .owing to thefact that these pile-planks ensure only a smalbportion of the screens resistance to bending and h orizontal stress; this resistanceisensured'iorgthe greater part by the foundationposts hich-thescreen comprises, in accordance rwithathe invention. andwhich can reach great depths.

According to the invention, theconnectionoi two consecutive pile :planks :is i effectedby means of a post, preferably of reinforced concrete,

mou d d in the a ound by m ans of .a sinking tube, this post having afldiameter cqnsiderably e te than the thi kn s -.0i the nil planks. and effectively embedding the abutmentsof .the adiar cent -pi-le p anks.

Also according to th invention, the vtubes are unk from di ta ce to d stance an th i l n s a e t e s n be we n e e u es whi ci a -eiilcdi guides pm d c h tu s s a -tc en e uid ce :Q en l ;=p a k a th i two ends which prevents accidental deviations nd zi cil a thei i c r ti lec ment- Each be is therein. si -indepen en y, at-a t stamenan c .irsn i p an wh what b p a ed. make n in i ha d amen era a le e en b isles injection of water, withoutriskof damaging .the a tc thcsc cena rcad c mn cdf ih cdcsi ed-cli m te 9 t e-p s anathemafcct em eddin c rth abatm n sc theccnti unsmilcnlaaksnambc c ta ec b av p mi a ins c tneccncr te t. uch the :11. sec the lcewhilc i is ilcei s w dra n s a t ;PIT$ theccnc etesisiew ys into th erm ne su ide h cr s sc ticn c the :tube .Acwrd ne 21 9 the invent on one .can a s us tub s --which :ha ca .diameter. considerahlyze cater thans h zthickn s f the pile nlanksand whichemb ac th abutmentof the ipilezplanks a soithat thcy" become embedded bythe-mere casting ncrete,andtheccnc et is pressed against th ends of the large surfaces ofathe .pile :planks when itheconcretezis rammed throughthezinsideoitheiiiube.

:In -.vie,w.of: the-:i-act sthatzi-n. accordance with the inventiomveritable:fcundat cn pest areinserted in the screen, gtheilattens .yresistance E130 yertical stress; is itery much -.greate -r than that 5015 scr ens constructed according to* the welleknow methods. "Ihese lpcst .camb co structed in the ma t ,difiicult ground. The tubes required :fgmnaking the .posts can be'sun ketoigreat depthsinrelation to-theilength lot zthe ipil plank eccnsti utine the screen,-;which-.m k zitipcs ilcle-tc irethcyscre n arerfect anch r-"inseam *to eincrea it .carryine capacity. :It z-is already -.well known :how I to giie greater length to certain pile planks of a screen. Thai-sink ng 19f mile plank p e ared inad cc itheriof rectan ular caissonsvior 11101111i11g= planks, .ornf sect on l iron embrac n ile planks, can, :however, not the married 91 ea it depths without causing damage tothern ecome racticall 11m cssih in resistan a ound. these hisadvan a s id m tiexis p sts-wed niaccc d a hith l cn -Qertain.eXamR1cs-:Q Z'PfiffQ m nezth -zm ritten the prec d ng uband-ai cmt c la are described hereunder with reference to the attached drawing in which:

Figs. 1 and 2 show plans of two phases in the construction of a screen;

Figs. 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8 show several variants of performing the invention;

Fig. 6 shows a cross-sectional view along the line VIVI in Fig. and

Figs. 9-12 show plans of four phases of another method of constructing a screen.

In the example according to Figs. 1-2, the posts are constructed by means of round tubes I provided with longitudinal guides each constituted by a groove formed by a--sectional iron 2 into which the plane or curved side surface of a pile plank will enter.

At first the tubes I are sunk into the ground by some well-known process, at such a distance from each other that the distance between the guides corresponds to the width of a pile plank. Then a pile plank 3 preparedin advance, e. g. of reinforced concrete, is slipped into the guides of the two tubes and driven to the desired depth by means of some appropriate method, e. g. by being driven or by the injection of water, or by a combination of these two methods.

A reinforcement 4 can then be placed in-the first tube and concrete can be rammed into it while the tube is progressively withdrawn so that a post 5 is formed which can be provided with an extended base. The tube withdrawn is then sunk on the other side of the second tube, whereafter a second pile plank is placed and the second post concreted. The operations described above are subsequently repeated. As a result a screen of indefinite length can be constructed by means of two tubes only.

According to the invention, real sinking tubes are thus used to construct foundation posts, i. e.

strong metal tubes which can be used almost indefinitely and canbe sunk in all kinds of ground, even to very great depths, and which make it possible to apply any method of sinking, especially the very advantageous sinking process by means of a preferably heavy ram striking on an adhesive plug of concrete or the like formed inside the lower end of the tube. This process makes it pos-v sible to achieve a much greater sinking power than has been possible to obtain until nowin the well-known processes of constructing pile plank screens.

The ramming of the concrete poured into the tube should be sufficiently vigorous to press the concrete sideways so that it fills also the cavities formed in the ground by the guides 2 and embeds completely the abutments of the pile planks, the post formed having a diameter considerably greater than the thickness of a pile plank. The roughness of the past also increases the stability of the screen.

The guidance of the pile planks between the tubes can be effected in any manner whatever. In the example shown in Fig. 3, the tubes have projections or ribs 6 which co-operate with grooves 1 provided in the side surfaces of the pile planks.

As shown in Fig. 4, instead of being placed in alignment, the pile planks can form a certain angle between each other. To this eflect, a tube is used on which the guides have a corresponding angular position (Fig. 4).

Each pile plank which is to be sunk, is separated by a tube and a pile plank, i. e. a distance practically exceeding one metre, from the last concreted'post which is therefore safe from any cffeet of the water injected. This process of sinking makes it possible to use less heavily reinforced pile planks and thus to save much steel as they need not be subjected to the powerful strokes of the usual battering.

Figs. 5 to 8 show various forms of the sinking tube which make it possible to compress the concrete directly against the edges of the large surfaces of the pile planks so as to improve the tightness and the resistance of the joints connecting the pile planks.

, The tube 8 according to Figs. 5-6 has a diameter considerably greater than the thickness of the pile planks 3 and has two longitudinal grooves 9 for guiding the pile planks. As the tube thus really embraces the pile planks, a perfect envelopment .oftheir abutments is obtained, even by the mere casting of concrete through the tube, but more especially if the concrete poured into the tube is rammed vigorously. It will be of advantage to use a ram of a form similar to that of the tube. It is also useful to give the abutments of the pile planks a rounded or bevelled shape (see Fig. 7) and to shape the grooves 9 accordingly.

If the tube 8 is placed on a sinking point In of metal or concrete sunk into the ground and also covering the cross-section of the hollow guides 9, these will be empty, at least in certain soils, at the moment when the pile planks are introduced, which facilitates the sinking of the pile planks as well as the extraction of the tube, while it improves the Weld between the concrete of the post and the pile planks.

Fig. 7 shows a tube ll having two longitudinal dents which give the tube a cross-section in the shape of an 8. Angle irons l2 welded to the tube serve as guides to the pile planks whose bevelled abutments engage with the dents of the tube.

Fig. 8 shows a sinking appliance formed by two coupled tubes i3, I4 in each of which operates a drop hammer.

It goes without saying that, without departing from the spirit of the invention, the sinking appliance envisaged by the invention can have greatly varied forms of construction.

In conclusion, it should be noted that the invention is also applicable to the construction of screens of pile planks moulded in the ground. It is sufficient to replace each pile plank 3 by a normal caisson [5 for the moulding of pile planks in the ground, as shown in Fig. 9. The caisson is filled with concrete (Fig. 10) and is then withdrawn, leaving a pile plank IS in the ground between the tubes I (Fig. 11). The latter are then Withdrawn and the posts concreted as described above (Fig. 12). The guiding of the caissons at their two ends prevents their deviation and the risk of damage which would result from it. In this case also the insertion of posts in the screen increases its resistance and makes its construction in hard ground possible.

What I claim is:

1. In a process for the construction of tight screensin the ground by means of pile-planks of concrete and like materials, driving in abutting relation and alternate succession into the ground pile-planks and. sinking tubes having a diameter greater than the thickness of the pile-planks, pouring pile material into each driven tube and ramming this material while withdrawing the tube so as to press the material sideways for effectively embedding the abutments of the adjacent pile planks.

2. In a process for the construction of tight screens in the ground by means of pile planks driven into the ground, driving sinking tubes by pairs into the ground at a distance from each other corresponding to the width of a pile plank, driving a pile plank in abutting relation between each pair of tubes, pouring pile material into the tubes and withdrawing the latter while ramming the pile material so as to form a pile having a diameter considerably greater than the thickness of the pile planks and efiectively embracing the abutments of the adjacent pile planks.

3. In a process for the construction of tight screens in the ground, driving into the ground, at a certain distance from each other, sinking tubes having outer longitudinal guiding means, engaging between the opposing guiding means of each pair of sinking tubes a pile-plank of concrete and like materials having a thickness substantially smaller than the diameter of the tubes, driving the pile-planks into the ground, pouring pile material into the tubes and withdrawing the latter.

4. In a process for the construction of tight screens in the ground, driving into the ground, at a certain distance from each other, sinking tubes having outer longitudinal guiding means, engaging between the guiding means of each pair of tubes a tubing caisson for moulding a pile- =plank having a thickness substantially smaller than the diameter of the tubes, driving the caissons into the ground, moulding the pile-planks in the ground, withdrawing the tubing caissons, pouring pile material into the tubes and withdrawing the latter.

5. In a process according to claim 3 said outer longitudinal guiding means consisting of longitudinal grooves forming guides for the pile planks.

6. In a process according to claim 3 the steps of first placing into the ground at a certain dis-' tance from each other sinking points intended to be left in the ground and each having a larger cross section than said sinking tubes and covering also the cross section of said outer longitudinal guiding means; and thereafter placing on said sinking points said sinking tubes.

7. A sinking tube for molding in the ground piles of concrete and like materials between the successive pile planks of a screen, said tube comprising in combination a tubular member being open at both ends; and oppositely arranged external longitudinal guiding means on said tubular member having a width being smaller than the diameter of said tubular member and. extending substantially from one end thereof to the other so as to be adapted to embrace the abutments of adjacent pile planks.

8. A sinking tube for molding in the ground piles of concrete and like materials between the successive pile planks of a screen, said tube comprising in combination a tubular member being open at both ends; and oppositely arranged external longitudinal grooves in the wall of said tubular member, said oppositely arranged longitudinal grooves having a width being smaller than the diameter of said tubular member and extending substantially from one end thereof to the other so as to be adapted to embrace the abutments of adjacent pile planks.

9. A sinking tube for molding in the ground piles of concrete and like materials between the successive pile planks of a screen, said tube comprising in combination a tubular member being open at both ends; oppositely arranged external longitudinal guiding means on said tubular member having a width being smaller than the diameter of said tubular member and extending substantially from one end thereof to the other so as to be adapted to embrace the abutments of adjacent pileplanks; and a sinking point at one end of said tubular member having a larger cross section than that of said tubular member and covering also the cross section of said external longitudinal guiding means.

ANDRE PAUL JOURDAIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 942,142 Holmes Dec. '7, 1909 1,088,946 Upson Mar. 3, 1914 1,714,949 Collier May 28, 1929 1,910,939 Titcomb May 23, 1933 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 6,040 Great Britain 1905 

